The Philosophical Roots of Hadewijch’s Conception of the Human Rede

Abstract

Studies of the heritage of Hadewijch Brabant mostly focus on the theological sources of her Love mystic (Minnemystik), disregarding the philosophical genesis of her ideas. In this article, I provide arguments in favour of the hypothesis of the philosophical roots of several Hadewijch’s concepts. It is about the parallels among the conception of (1) Rede (Reason) as an image of the Trinity in the human soul and Augustine’s Neoplatonic tradition; (2) life under the guidance of the Reason as the way of recognition and self-control and Seneca’s stoicism; (3) Rede in the image of the queen as the factor of growing of the epistemic virtues which prepare the human soul to the unity with God (Minne) and images of the Lady Dialectic by Martianus Capella, and Lady Philosophy by Boethius.